[Steve D]

I am working on what I think is a 600C or a 602C and the cabinet was in terrible condition with lots of delamination. I have it mostly glued and veneered back together but have a question about the radio back.

My back is separate and appears that it is supposed to be glued to the cabinet. I presume the radio chassis which mounts from the bottom can be installed with the rear cover glued on but I am not sure. The back has about a 1/64" wood laminate on the inside of the cover for strength but mine only has a piece across the top. Does anyone know what size this laminate should be and how the speaker grille cloth is fastened to it. (there are two grille clothes, one on the front in front of the speaker and one on the back panel.

Thanks,

Steve D

[Ron Ramirez]

The back of the cabinet is supposed to be fastened on to the rest of the cabinet, and the chassis is removed/installed from the bottom.

The back is a mirror image of the front, but there is no dial or holes for knobs, of course.

[Radioroslyn]

Just as a side note the early 600 had two louvers in the top and the later had four. If you need another cab to fix I've got one that the back need to be reveneered.

Terry

[Steve D]

Thanks for your answers. I have the laminate glued up on the back panel and curing now.

7estatdef,

I think the veneer looks OK but if not I'll check out your spare cabinet. Thanks for the offer.

Steve D

[Ron Ramirez]

For future reference, here's a trick I learned from John "Hagstar" Hagman:

Apply Titebond II to the surfaces you wish to clamp together. Press the veneer into place, then using a very old iron that you don't care about (because glue WILL get on the bottom of it), iron the veneer until it has set. Go ahead and turn the iron up to its highest heat setting. While doing this, be careful that you don't move the veneer around as you iron it, else it will set in the wrong position!

I used this trick to glue together the front panel of my 41-231 "Little Bullet," which had become completely delaminated. It worked - and the radio looks good now. I found an old 1960s-era GE iron at a yard sale for 50 cents; this is the iron I use for ironing veneer. Still works fine.

Whatever you do, don't use the wife's good iron or you may end up in divorce court!

[Arran]

There is a variation of this method that Bob Andersen uses where he uses a head gun to heat up the underside of the veneer and the surface you are gluing it to, I tried the iron method to heat it directly and it dried out and split the veneer I was working with so I'm not a fan of it.
Regards
Arran

[codefox1]

Agree. if it is a bubble, slit with a scaplel along grain, and put a damp towel on it and hot iron. Shut it off and leave it there over night as weight. May or may not need filler or touch up with a spotting brush and oil paint before further restoration.